Akwa Ibom State Government said it has put the necessary machinery in place for the launching of a Geographical Information System known as Akwa-GIS aimed at addressing issues of sharp practices in land administration in the state.

The state Commissioner for Lands and Housing, Capt. Iniobong Ekong (retd.), disclosed this during a media interaction in his office on Monday.

He explained that the delay in the launch of the project is because of the need to integrate the Office of the Surveyor General, the State Internal Revenue Services, the Land Use and Allocation Committee and the Uyo Captain City Structure.

“We are coming up in less than a month’s time with a full launch of Geographical Information System that is called Akwa-GIS.

“What has delayed our launching was the later need to integrate the office of the Surveyor-general, Akwa Ibom State Internal Revenue Services, Land Use and Allocation Committee and Uyo Capital City, we are waiting for the full integration of these structures to be able to launch out the geographical Information System.

“What that means is that from the comfort of your home, you can move into your site and do everything about it online; you can do the search online, upload your power of Attorney online, get authorisation and your C of Os in less than no time. The whole intention is to eliminate sharp practices and ensure the principle of ease of doing business, ” Ekong said.

The commissioner said that his ministry is working towards the successful launch of the GIS in no distance time from now, adding that the issue of land grabbing would come to zero in the state very soon.

He said, “We all know the importance of certificate of ownership to business circles and the benefits to the larger society and so we have worked with the Guide Christian Company, the vendor for this service and just for some bottlenecks, I am very sure in a couples of weeks to come, the state would be launched into the realm of computerised level of every land.

“At that time, by the grace of God, all these issues of land grabbing and who is not grabbing land will come to zero.”

He urged people interested in land purchases in the state to secure the services of qualified lawyers to avoid falling into the wrong hands.